With the shock news that Nico Hulkenberg is to sign for Renault, many are asking why would he move to a team that isn’t getting any notable results and is currently performing below the standards of Force India? But allow me to answer why this move isn’t as mad as you may think.
At the age of 29, Hulkenberg is in the prime of his career and has always been considered a great talent by many who have worked with him in the past. He became GP2 champion at the first time of asking in 2009, a feat only achieved by Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
When it was announced he would be Rosberg’s replacement at Williams for the 2010 season, many felt this was a good move for the team to get on board such a fast and solid driver. While results were sometimes left to be desired that season, a shock pole position in mixed conditions at the Brazilian Grand Prix was the highlight of his season which really raised his stock.
Unfortunately, he lost his seat for 2011 to the well-funded Pastor Maldonado and has since spent his time with Force India albeit one season at Sauber in 2013.
Despite not having yet achieved a podium finish in his 111 starts of his Formula One career so far, his stock as a driver hasn’t dropped far at all. Rumours of a Ferrari contract being on the table for 2014 were rife, but ultimately never came to fruition.
Renault is a team that have a strong connection to the sport and have championship success in their DNA. They came back into Formula One as a manufacturer in 2016 with the aim of five years to once again win a title as they did in 2005 and 2006.
While results in the 2016 season have often been left to be desired, the R.S16 car is merely a shadow of what Lotus left behind for Renault when the team sold up finally sold up in the winter for just £1.
A car that was late is design and production, as well as having to be redesigned to accommodate the Renault power unit is certainly showing that no amount of time, effort and money can turn the performance around.
Renault is likely to release both current race drivers in Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen, much to the dismay of many fans and pundits.
I feel that signing Nico Hulkenberg is a statement of intent from the french marque, to bring in a driver who we all know is fast, ruthless and precise, as well as a Le Mans winner to boot.
While other top seats in Formula One has eluded the German, a move to a manufacturer is something that could well benefit his future. Fernando Alonso proved this in his time with the team from his younger days.
Hulkenberg now has the opportunity to head to a manufacturer team that has championship pedigree and the opportunity to build it around him.
At Force India, he hasn’t had this opportunity because teammate Sergio Perez is proving to be a worthy opponent on the other side of the garage and is currently slightly overshadowed by the Mexican.
Hulkenberg can now have a team dedicate their time to him as well as vice versa, there is no doubting the pace of the man who at the prime of his career has shown that he can be fast in any machinery.
With such drastic rule changes for 2017 that lie ahead, it’s anyone’s guess as to how the form of the team may change, they have already stated that they’ll be basing next year’s chassis from their 2015 challenger and not the R.S16 and to be honest, who can blame them?
With an opportunity to also iron out the kinks of the current power unit thanks to no more development tokens over the winter, this is also something that could spur the team’s efforts moving forward.
Given time, with Renault’s will to succeed, Hulkenberg’s ultimate desire to achieve the next step in his career will make the pair make quite a formidable team. With rumours circling of young Esteban Ocon set to be in the other car, there will be no shortage of speed in the team.
The move for Hulkenberg may seem very strange for some, but Lewis Hamilton proved that by making a shock move when he did so from McLaren to Mercedes, and to some extent Fernando Alonso’s move from Ferrari to McLaren, certainly show that sometimes sticking to one team doesn’t always lead to results.
Whatever happens from here on in, Hulkenberg now must deliver on his performances we all know he can deliver, now he’ll have a full works team to gather around him, there is now no room for excuses.
